Page 22 of Incisive

Everyone else certainly bought Stella’s act. I have no doubts that when Stella called me the afternoon after Grace died, my sister felt legitimately shook and upset over her friend’s passing. I heard it in her voice and since her expressing genuine emotions is so rare I couldn’t help but note it.

Whyexactly she was upset is something I’ll never know. I’m cynical enough to believe it was more over the loss of her co-conspirator and best congressional contact, meaning a complete upheaval of plans Stella and Grace had in the works involving me, rather than the actual death of Stella’s longtime “friend.”

Because, as we’ve already established, my little sister is a bit of a shit.

If I hadn’t been convinced Stella’s tears were fake by that point the selfies she took with me in the cathedral would have clued me in. Along with the way she kept glancing around, obviously checking to see who was watching her with me and carefully cultivating her reactions.

Oh, and the fact that she also tried to introduce me to several people in the church, as soon as the service ended. Fortunately Jordan, Leo, and my detail swooped in to escort me away, claiming I was needed.

The anger flashing in Stella’s eyes might as well have belonged to the bratty teenaged girl conspiring with her now-dead bestie to lie and set me up to take the fall for her yet again. I’m honestly shocked she wasn’t trying to livestream the funeral and her manufactured tears on social media.

The ancient dread flowing through me settled into the deep grooves already etched by Stella into the bedrock my soul. An ugly, nasty, dark emotion bordering on fearful rage with more than a heaping helping of guilt for feeling like that about my sister.

Thatwas the exact moment I considered several distinct possibilities, the first being maybe Stella was more involved in the circumstances surrounding Grace’s death than she’d admitted.

Another possibility?

That maybe Grace’s death wasn’t an accidental overdose.

Or maybe Leo or Jordan knew Stella had something to do with Grace’s death and they refused to tell me to protect me. Believe me, I am under no illusions that my sister and her bestie were up to no good when it came to exploiting their relationship with me and leveraging that into using my office for their benefit as much as possible.

I mean Grace legitimately had a history of fucking people over stretching back years, and that was no secret to Stella. It wouldn’t be a shocker if Grace turned on Stella when it looked like Stella wouldn’t be as much use to Grace as Grace originally thought Stella would.

Which would explain Grace’s sudden interest in trying to befriend Jordan outside of Stella’s presence and risk possibly pissing off my sister.

Equally likely it’s possible Stella knew something about Grace’s death, even if she wasn’t directly involved.

Leading me to consider yet another scenario: that Stella might be legitimately innocent in Grace’s death but maybe Grace finally pissed off the wrong person and, somehow, they got to her. Maybe Leo and Jordan knew more aboutthatthan they’ve let on and are protecting me by withholding that knowledge.

I mean, obviously it’s not because either of them are involved. Right? Leo would rat-fuck Grace, not kill her, meaning Jordan wouldn’t need to cover for him. Besides, Leo wasn’t even there and Jordan was cleared.

It bothers me I’ll never know the truth. Because any digging into it could indirectly expose me or the two men I love to a scandal.

Ironically, it wouldn’t bother me if Stella was caught in a scandal, as long as it didn’t ensnare me or my men in the process. Stella would get what she damned well deserves. I’ve already clearly stated to others, many times, that I refuse to let my sister manipulate me or allow her to use me for gain. It’d only bother me if her downfall upsets our parents.

All this is a very long way of saying there are a lot of reasons why I wish I hadn’t run for POTUS.

Part of me wants to lose this election but I can’t bring myself to deliberately sabotage my chances. Plus, Jordan’s worked his ass off for me and he’s confident I will handily defeat Boone, my GOP opponent.

Actually, Jordan’s confident I already have beaten Boone, based on poll numbers from early voting results. I’m afraid he might be right.

It also means I’ll continue to dodge my sister’s bullshit for the next four to eight years.

Does it make me a horrible person that I’m not sad Grace is dead because the aggravation she caused me died with her?

Fucking election.

Stella is still shoulders-deep up the asses of some very well-connected people with a lot of dark money to spread around. So was Grace. Far-right donors who also cross-pollenate the membership rosters of a very secretive political religious group frequently called “The Family.” Meaning if I take the initiative to completely cut Stella out of my life, she could turn my career and personal life into a living hell.

With strict orders not to tell Jordan or Leo, I’ve had the head of my detail secretly look into some of Stella’s activities, ones he could explore without attracting any attention as well as the backgrounds of the people Stella works for, and of her closest associates.

There lies a darkly tangled jungle of vines bearing toxic fruit. I don’t need to invite extra trouble into my world so leaving that situation as undisturbed as possible makes my life easier, for now.

In fact, Stella’s joining me at the hotel in DC later tonight for my presumptive victory celebration. Jordan would’ve happily cancelled her invite if I’d said the word but it’s one of those cases that I will cause less trouble for myself if I let her attend and schmooze. Freezing her out will make her loudly bitch about it to everyone who will listen, including the press and, even worse, to our parents. The less ammunition I give her the better.

Although I laid down the law and forbade her from bringing a plus-one tonight unless she cleared them at least two weeks in advance with Secret Service. Which she’s had problems doing because I’ve asked for far stricter requirements than normal for anyone she tries to add.

So far she hasn’t managed to leap that high bar. Even better? I can blame it on the Secret Service and they unflinchingly bear the brunt of Stella’s ire.